His greatest pain always came from losing the people he loved.

He's been attacked by Duel Monsters, mauled by animals, had his arm almost sawn off by assassins. But nothing compares to the way his heart breaks when his loved ones leave.

Yubel was the only friend he was able to keep in his dying moment. All the others fell before the Princess of Light and the other servants of the Light of Destruction.

"Haou! Go on!" They'd scream as they used their bodies as shields.

"We believe in you!" They shouted as they Duelled with a servant.

"Stop the Light!" They shrieked as they pushed monsters off cliffs, falling with them.

"Save the world!" They pleaded as they lay dying in his lap.

He took the wishes of all his fallen loved ones, all his pain and threw it into his sword.

But it wasn't enough.

Nothing he did was ever enough.

He hoped his friends would forgive him in the next life.

Yuuna shouts, eyes gold. "Draw!"

She looks over her hand, as the sea laps at her, the stars her witness as she practices.

"Kuri!" Winged Kuriboh cheers.

Yubel nods. "Do your best!"

"I summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World!" Yuuna declares, eyes solid gold.

Brron cackles and breaks out of his chains. "Let's see what havoc I can wreck on this mortal world!"

He spins around and digs his claws into the ground, cackling as he tears apart the rocks and dirt.

Yubel sighs. "Well that's one way to prove he's solid."

Brron continues to cackle, then turns around. "What can I destroy next, Yuuna?! Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"Nothing right now, Brron." Yuuna says. "I'm beat."

Then she pops down on her bum, yelping as she hits the ground. Ouch. Okay, that hurt.

"You should take a break, Yuuna." Yubel floats over to her, falling to their own knees. "You've been at this for two hours."

"Kuri-kuri!" Winged Kuriboh nods his head, floating into Yuuna's lap.

Yuuna sighs and runs her fingers through his fur. "Okay then. I'm just." She growls softly and shouts, falling on her back. "I'm so angry!"

She officially hates Zane! She does! Especially after what Jasmine and Mindy told her about him.

"Huh?" Mindy blinked. "Why do you want to know about Zane Truesdale?"

"Well, I wanna know why whoever wrote that joking love letter thought sending it to me would make me go to the Abandoned Dorm." Yuuna shrugged. "Plus, you guys seem to know a lot about everything in Duel Academy."

Jasmine hummed. "Well, we don't know him personally, but we know Alexis is close to him."

Yuuna gulped. "Really?"

Shit.

"He's a third year Obelisk Blue and he's super handsome." Mindy giggled. "He's also the best Duelist on campus."

"Yeah!" Jasmine nodded. "I Duelled him once and I didn't last more than three turns. He totally demolished me."

Mindy winced. "Oh man. How cold was he?"

"Cold?" Yuuna blinked.

Jasmine sighed. "He's, kinda cold hearted in a lot of his actions. He's really blunt and can be harsh at times. I heard from some of the senior girls that he used to be warmer before…"

Yuuna leant closer. "Before what?"

Mindy sighed. "His friends Atticus and Yusuke joined this study program in the states and there's been no contact since. I heard they were a pretty close bunch until then."

Yuuna's eyes widened.

He knew Atticus? As in Alexis' missing older brother involved in the Shadow Games?

"He's kinda mysterious and powerful, so a lot of people like him." Jasmine shrugged. "I'm not his biggest fan though."

"I can't blame you." Mindy sighed. "He's pretty harsh whenever he rejects any love letters too, boarding on cruelty even."

Yuuna remembered how she found Syrus broken down and crying, after just one conversation with Zane. It made her blood boil with rage.

"How do I Duel this guy?" Yunna demanded.

Mindy and Jasmine gaped at her. "What?! You can't be serious!"

"I am!" Yuuna stood up. "100%. I'm gonna Duel this jackass and get him to stop being such a jackass!"

Mindy and Jasmine's mouths opened even more. "WHAT?!"

Yuuna growls and punches the air. "I hate him! How dare he hurt my friends! I'm gonna hit him with Brron, then throw Axe of Despair at him and finally I'll activate my Mirror Force!"

Yubel chuckles, running their claws through her hair. "I'm sure he won't know what hit him."

Yuuna smiles at them. "Thanks Yubel."

They grin and look out at the ocean. So Yuuna looks up at the stars.

Little specks of hope, that are actually billions of miles apart from her and each other. Yet, they're still connected. She wonders if those stars can see each other, like how she can see them. She wonders if that gives them comfort.

"Yuuna?"

She blinks, eyes turning brown and her Duel Disk powering down, turning around.

Blair walks over to her. "Why are you out here? It's like 1 in the morning and you said we'd have an early night."

Yuuna giggles nervously, rubbing her head. "You caught me. I was practicing."

"For our Duel?" Blair sits next to her. "Or your golden eye thing?"

"Ah." Yuuna says.

Well… she promised Blair she'd talk to her about it soon. They're alone. It's probably the best time to do it.

"Well, where should I start?" Yuuna looks up at the stars.

Yubel chuckles at her side. "Perhaps at the beginning? With Haou and me..."

Blair stares at her expectantly.

"Okay, I guess I'll start at the beginning then." Yuuna sits up properly, crossing her legs and putting her hands in her lap, turning to Blair. "I think this story begins around the time the Romans were up to their empiring. That's when my power first appeared in this world."

"First appeared?" Blair blinks, tilting her head. "Are you immortal or something?"

Yuuna laughs and shakes her hands. "No, it's nothing like that. No super healing, so laser eyes or anything from the X-Men." She lowers her hands, putting them in her lap. "I don't actually know about all of my powers and I can't use all of the ones I know about."

"And there will be time to teach you them. Be calm, Little Princess." Yubel puts their hand on her shoulder.

Yuuna smiles at them.

Blair tilts her head. "Why do you have these powers then? Was it a bloodline thing, where you got them from your mother or father?"

"Nope. It's reincarnation." Yuuna smiles and gives a two finger salute. "Turns out in my past life I was a Prince named Haou."

"Haou?" Blair's eyes widen. "Your story!"

Smart girl.

Yuuna nods. "That's right, spitfire. I'm the Herald of the Gentle Darkness."

"And Yubel is your Dragon-Guard." Blair looks down at Yuuna's Duel Disk.

Where Yubel's card is out, along with Brron and Winged Kuriboh.

"Yep." Yuuna smiles, picking up their card. "That mural in the Abandoned Dorm had Yubel on it and the man that Haou would become, the Supreme King. His title survived longer than his name, but Yubel never forgot it. That's how I know who he really was."

"Then, if the Gentle Darkness exists to fight the Light of Destruction…" Blair gasps. "It's here, isn't it? It's back from wherever it went after Haou beat it the first time."

Yuuna sighs and looks up at the stars. She wishes Haou had beaten.

"I'm afraid Haou never defeated it. He only stalled the Light, but now it's gaining power once again." Yuuna looks out at the ocean. "I came to Duel Academy not just to get away from my parents. I came here to prepare for my destiny." She makes a fist. "So I'd be strong enough to fight the Light of Destruction, when the time is here for me to do so."

She can't fail the world again. She won't allow the Light of Destruction to continue it's reign of terror.

"I know you're getting stronger, Yuuna." Yubel declares, voice strong.

Yuuna smiles. That means a lot to her.

"Does anyone else have the power of the Gentle Darkness?" Blair asks, hands curled into fists in her lap.

Yuuna and Yubel blink, then look at each other.

"Not that I know of." Yubel says.

Yuuna turns to Blair. "No. It's just me with the Gentle Darkness."

Blair curls her fists tighter. "So, you're fighting the Light of Destruction alone?"

"Of course not." Yuuna smiles and pats her Duel Disk. "I've got my monsters with-"

"No, I mean, other Duelists!" Blair says. "You're strong, Yuuna and you have your monsters. But even you'd be tired after fighting like, five people one after the other. Don't you have someone to help you fight? Someone else with the Gentle Darkness who knows how to Duel?"

Yuuna gapes at her, world rocked.

Other people with her powers?

Who could help her fight the Light of Destruction?

That's…

"No." Yuuna shakes her head. "I'm the only one with the power of the Gentle Darkness and even if there were others, I don't want to get them involved. This is my destiny and my responsibility as the reincarnation of the Supreme King."

She has to make up for not stopping it the first time.

"Little Princess, it wasn't yours or Haou's fault." Yubel murmurs.

Blair stands up. "Yuuna, you can't expect me to hear all that and just leave you to fight it alone!"

Yuuna blinks, gaping at her. "What?"

"I want to fight the Light of Destruction too!" Blair holds up her fists. "I'm not going to let you face it all alone!"

Yuuna and Yubel stare at her, mouths open wide with shock.

Then what Blair said catches up to Yuuna.

"Are you crazy?!" Yuuna jumps to her feet. "It's too dangerous, I wasn't lying when I was talking about the Light, Blair! It takes over your body, ripping away everything that was you and then using you to hurt the people and the world you love! You can't fight it!"

Blair grins and puts her hands on her hips. "Then you'll just have to train me to stop the Light before it can get in my head."

Yuuna and Yubel blink at her.

"What?!" Yuuna shouts.

Blair sighs and takes her hands off her hips. "Yuuna, you remember what you said in the Shadow Game, right? That you loved me?"

Yuuna puts her hand over her heart.

She remembers the panic on Blair's face when she looked at Titan. She remembers how Blair cried. She remembers that she told Blair she loved her while giving her a bandana.

Yuuna meant it.

"... Yes I do Blair." Yuuna puts on her best stern face. "And that's why I want you to stay out of it. I don't want my little sister to get hurt!"

"Well, I love you too and I don't want my big sister to get hurt!" Blair stamps her foot. "I'm not about to lose you to the Light of Destruction! I'm going to try to fight it anyway, so either you train me or I go off on my own!"

Yuuna gapes at her, heart in her throat. "Blair…"

Blair looks up at her, fists in front of her, determined and brave.

Yuuna smiles and kneels before her, putting one hand on Blair's shoulder. "Okay. I don't know a lot about the Light of Destruction, but I'll tell you what I do know and we can practice our Duelling."

Blair smiles, lowering her fists. "Thank you, Yuuna."

"In the morning though." Yuuna stands up. "I'm tired."

Blair yawns on cue.

Yubel chuckles. "It would be wise if you all went to sleep soon. I promise I'll protect you both."

Yuuna smiles at them, then she takes Blair's hand and the two Slifer Girls walk up the rocks, back to their dorm.

At the exact same time though, down by the light house, a figure stands in the mist.

He looks out at the spinning light, then down at the cards in his hand. A voice from his memories echoes in his head.

"For your loyalty to the Light, we grant you a gift. Use it to serve the Light."

The card glints at him, revealing the Dark attribute.

"Mr Rhodes, if this is to serve the Light, then why is it a dark monster?"

"In time you'll understand it's purpose. Until then, keep it safe and use it wisely."

He'd been grief stricken and naive when he first joined the society, but slowly he learned the truth. He learned exactly why he'd been given a Dark monster when he was in the Society of Light.

He looks towards the cliff edges, where the Slifer Red Dorm sits.

He must fight fire with fire.

Yuuna tries to hide the nervousness in her steps as she wanders the Duel Academy hallways, feeling eyes digging into her back. No, no, not again.

She glances over her shoulder, but there's no one there. Just like there hasn't been after each time she turns a left and looks over her shoulder.

Yuuna sighs and walks a little faster to her next class, listening out carefully. But there's no footsteps beside her own and she can feel those eyes and she wants to puke-

Yuuna dashes into the girl's bathroom, slams a stall door shut behind her, climbs onto the toilet seat and holds her breath. She waits a minute and she hears no one come into the room and no one down the hallway.

She lets out a long breath. "Stop being paranoid, Yuuna."

She's gotta calm down. She's not at home where she has to watch her every step. She's at Duel Academy, safe and sound. Her parents have no idea she's here. She needs to calm down.

"Yuuna?" Yubel appears at her side, their hand falling on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Yuuna groans and shakes her head. "It's nothing, I, I'm just a little scared."

"Scared?" Yubel lowers themself so they can see her face. "Of what? Tell me."

"I, I think someone's following me and I don't know why." Yuuna shudders, holding herself tighter. "I can't see or hear anyone, but I, I just-"

"Hush, Little Princess." Yubel murmurs, softly. They reach out their other hand and rest it on her head. "You're safe so long as I'm here. I'll look around and I'll make sure any stalkers get what they deserve. I'll be right back."

With that, they fly out the stall door and through a mirror, outside. Yuuna holds herself tightly and tries to calm down. Yubel will be fine. They're a supremely powerful Duel Spirit and have more than enough wit to back it up. They're going to be fine. They're going to be fine!

Yuuna holds herself tighter.

She has to believe that. She has to.

"Yuuna."

Yuuna gasps and opens her eyes.

"Hush, hush, it's just me Little Princess." Yubel calls, gently resting their hands over her own. "There's no one in the hallway you just came through. You're safe."

Yuuna sighs and nods. "Okay."

She puts her feet on the ground and stands up. She can do this. She needs to calm down.

"Let's get to class." Yuuna says.

With that, she and Yubel leave the bathroom and get to class.

But as the day drags on, Yuuna still feels the eyes on her. In class, in the hallways, when she's with the other Slifers or with Bastion, Jasmine and Mindy. She spends the day fearful and scared.

So when Blair asks her after class. "Do you want to go to the card shack with us?"

Yuuna shakes her head and yawns. "No thanks. I was kinda up late and I wanna take a nap before dinner." She smiles and reaches out to pet Blair's head. "I promise we can talk Duel strategies after."

Blair blinks and nods. "Okay. Have a good one."

With that, Blair and Bastion head over to the card shack where the rest of Yuuna's friends likely are.

Yuuna starts making her way back to the Slifer Dorm, hands in her pockets, eyes digging into her back.

"Are you sure you want to be on your own at a time like this?" Yubel murmurs.

Yuuna nods and walks towards her dorm room. "If someone is following me, I want to face them alone."

She's scared of whoever is following her, but she's more afraid of her friends getting hurt.

"Besides," Yuuna smiles, eyes flashing gold. "I'm not alone so long as I've got my Deck, Duel Disk and you, Yubel."

Yubel smiles and nods. "I'll protect you then, should the situation call for it."

Yuuna nods and then turns around.

She marches towards the Slifer dorm, but the eyes on her slowly seem to fade. She doesn't feel them digging into her back anymore and Yuuna starts to breathe easier.

Yuuna makes it to the Slifer dorm quickly, feeling almost cheerful by the time she gets there.

Then she notices a note pinned to her door.

"That's… weird." Yuuna murmurs, walking up the stairs.

"Be careful, it could be a trap." Yubel warns.

Yuuna grits her teeth. Great. Just as she was starting to chill out from her paranoia.

Yuuna takes in a deep breathe. Lets it out.

Then she pulls the note from the nail it's stuck to the door on and reads it, trusting Yubel to warn her of any traps springing.

Your friend Syrus Truesdale is being held captive.

If you want to see him again, come to the cliff where you Duelled Alexis Rhodes, alone, before 4pm with your Duel Disk and Deck.

Yuuna gasps, looking at the watch on her PDA.

3:30pm.

Yuuna drops the note and runs and runs and runs-

"SYRUS!"

Syrus sneezes.

Chumley blinks. "You okay Syrus?"

"Here's a tissue." Blair offers it to him.

"Thanks." Syrus cleans his nose, then throws the tissue in the bin. "I think I'm okay, I don't know why I sneezed just now."

The Slifer students are in the cardshack currently, chilling out while sharing a few snacks and drinks. They have their cards spread out on the table while working on each others' Decks.

"Hehe, maybe someone's talking about you." Blair grins, winking.

Syrus laughs. "Yeah right." He looks at his lap, murmuring. "As if anyone would be talking about me."

"Come on Sy, why wouldn't people be talking about you?" Chumley says, patting his back. "You're a pretty great guy and I say this as someone who's known a lot of guys in my time."

Syrus sighs and rests his head on the table. "Then they're probably not talking about me in a nice way. Especially if it's my big brother."

Blair blinks, leaning forward. "I didn't know you had a brother."

"Yeah, that's news to me." Chumley says.

Syrus stiffens up, remembering his talk with Zane yesterday.

"You're not worthy to have Power Bond or be at Duel Academy."

Syrus groans and shakes his head, trying to block out Zane's words.

"You're amazing, Syrus."

Syrus blinks, letting the words of his friends wash over him.

"Syrus Truesdale is a capable Duelist!"

"You deserve to talk about your feelings too."

Okay then. Maybe he should.

Syrus sits up straight. "I… don't really have the best relationship with my brother."

Chumley and Blair move so they're sitting closer to him.

"He's the best Duelist I've ever known. Probably the best on the island. When we were kids he kinda bullied me a little, but I still loved him because he's ya know, my big brother." Syrus then slowly pulls out the one card he always does his best to avoid. "He gave me his special card when we were kids."

He shows them Power Bond.

Blair gasps. "That's an incredibly powerful card."

"A really dangerous one to the Duelist who uses it too." Chumley gulps.

"And that's exactly why I can't use it." Syrus sighs, putting it on the table. "My brother said I'm not good enough to use this card and he's right. I don't deserve Power Bond, I don't belong at Duel Academy and I'll just mess everything up!"

Syrus groans and hides his face in his arms. He wishes he wasn't so weak. He wishes he didn't need this card. He wishes that Zane wasn't right about him.

"Syrus." Blair puts a hand on his shoulder. "None of that's true."

Syrus lifts his head and looks at her. "How do you know?"

"Because I know you, Sy." Blair smiles. "While it's true that playing and using a card are two different things, it takes time to practice them and if you're too scared of what could go wrong, then you'll never try anything."

Syrus's eyes widen.

There's a difference between playing a card and using one?

"She's right." Chumley nods. "Not to mention you pass all the tests and you're getting better all the time. You belong in Duel Academy way more than you think you do, Syrus, I know it."

"Duel Academy would be a lot more boring without you here." Blair smiles, squeezing his shoulder. "You belong here, Syrus and you don't mess anything up. If anything, you make things better. I don't know if I'd still be here if you didn't defend me yesterday."

Syrus blinks, sitting up straight.

She's right. He'd been the only one who noticed Blair was gone for too long and decided to go look for her. If Syrus hadn't found her before her step-mom could drag her off, there's a chance that Blair wouldn't still be at Duel Academy.

Blair opens her arms. "You're important, Syrus. You don't mess everything up, you belong at Duel Academy and you can use Power Bond. All it takes is practice."

Syrus' eyes grow wet and he sniffles, going to hug her. "Thanks Blair."

"Aww." Chumley smiles and hugs both of them, squeezing a little too tight for a few seconds. "You're the best roommate ever Sy."

Syrus smiles and hugs him too. "Thanks, big guy, I could say the same about you."

With that, the three of them sit in that hug for a while but…

Something's missing.

Someone's missing.

"Hey, has anyone seen Yuuna since class got out?" Syrus says, looking at the two of them.

Chumley and Blair blink, pulling back from the hug and sitting back down in their own seats.

"She said she wanted to take a nap before we talked Duel strategies." Blair looks at hre PDA. "But it's been a while now and Yuuna might be late to class, but she's never late to a hang out."

"She has been acting kinda jumpy today." Chumley murmurs. "Like she's scared of something."

Syrus noticed that too. "Do you think she's a little shaken up after yesterday?"

Blair hums. "She might be. I know I was."

Chumley stands up, making the two turn to him.

"That settles it then." Chumley turns towards the exit. "We're going to grab her some comfort food and then we're going to find out what Yuuna's favourite movie is and watch it on loop until she feels better." He smiles at them over his shoulder. "My dad and I would do that whenever I was having a tough time."

Syrus looks up at him and nods, turning to Blair. "You get the drinks and I'll get the snacks?"

"Deal." With that, Blair shoots off and so does Syrus.

Yuuna's always doing so much to cheer him, Blair and so many other people up. She deserves to have some love too.

"SYRUS!" Yuuna screams, racing around the tree. "I'M HERE, DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

She gasps and pants as she comes to a stop, dust settling behind her. The cliff is the same, with students in the sands below and the sun shining bright and the wind rustling the trees. But there's no sign of Syrus or anyone who could have hurt him.

"Yubel, can you sense anything?" Yuuna murmurs, looking around.

Yubel spins in a circle. "I can. I can sense a fraction of-" They gasp. "Oh no."

"What is it?!" Yuuna straightens quickly, panic-stricken. "What's here?!"

"Nothing as frightening as you."

Yuuna and Yubel turn around, where they see the same blue haired boy from the Abandoned Dorm step out from behind a tree.

"Zane." Yuuna steals her nerves and curls her hands into fists. "What have you done with Syrus?!" She points at him. "Because I swear if you hurt a single hair on his perfect head-"

"He's fine, he's been in the cardshack this entire time." Zane walks towards her with his arms folded.

Yunna snarls. "What's the big idea with scaring me like this then? Is this some sick prank to you?!"

"Of course not." Zane uncrosses his arms. "I would never waste my time on something so pointless." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a deck of Duel Monster cards. "I brought you here for one reason and one reason only."

Yuuna lowers her arms. "Oh, that's all you wanted?" She smirks darkly, putting her Deck in place. "You should've just said so."

"Yuuna be careful!" Yubel calls. "He has a trace of the Light of Destruction in his Deck."

Yuuna stiffens.

She's only had one battle with the Light of Destruction so far. She lost it hard to a student in her own year group and Zane is the best in the 3rd year, likely the whole school.

"Well?" Zane calls.

Yuuna turns her Duel Disk on. "Get your game on."

She's known what her destiny was for as long as she's known her true self. She won't lose again and she won't let Zane continue to hurt the people she cares about.

"If I win, then I want you to apologize to Syrus." Yuuna says. "He's the best guy I've ever known and he doesn't deserve to be treated badly by someone who's supposed to love him."

Zane narrows his eyes. "Then when I win, I want you to tell me everything you know about the disappearance of Atticus Rhodes and how to bring him back."

Yuuna blinks, eyes widening. "What? I don't know Atticus Rhodes."

"Are you going to keep stalling?" Zane raises his Duel Disk. "Or are we going to Duel?"

"Yuuna, he's not going to believe you." Yubel calls, arms folded, glaring viciously at Zane. "Show him what you're made of."

"Fine." Yuuna grits her teeth.

"DUEL!"

YUUNA YUKI: 4000

ZANE TRUESDALE: 4000

"Ladies first, if you don't mind." Yuuna draws and looks over her hand.

Zure, Damage Condenser, Dark World Dealings, Lucent, Snoww and Negate Attack.

Yubel leans over her shoulder. "Yuuna, you need to play this smart. This is the strongest Duelist on campus, you can't afford to be in danger."

"I know, Yubel. Syrus getting the apology he deserves is on the line, too." Yuuna looks over her cards, then makes her choice. "I summon Zure, Knight of Dark World!"

Zure takes to the field with his 1800 ATK points, glaring Zane down. "Has this man been troubling you, my Queen?"

"You could say that, but he's gonna be in even more trouble after I really get started. For now." Yuuna plays a facedown. "That's everything. Come at me Zane, give me your best shot!"

"My best shot, huh?" Zane draws. "Is that what you told Atticus before you took him?"

Yuuna huffs. "I don't know anything about Atticus Rhodes, why do you think I do?"

Zane scowls. "So you'll continue your lying? Alright then, I guess I'll just have to force the truth out of you with my Cyber Dragon!"

Out onto the field bursts a serpentine creature, made entirely of silver, sparkling metal and with 2100 ATK points to spare.

"How?!" Yubel gasps. "That creature is a Level 5 monster!"

Yuuna gasps, taking a step back. "How can you summon it without a sacrifice?!"

"I could summon it because of Cyber Dragon's special ability. When there's a monster on your side of the field, I can Special Summon him from my hand." Zane then selects another card. "Which leaves my normal summon free for my Cyber Dragon Drei!"

Another serpentine monster appears on the field, with a smoother body, yellow lining and 1800 ATK.

Yuuna gasps.

"Yuuna brace yourself!" Yubel orders.

Yuuna girts her teeth. "It's okay, Yubel, I have my facedow-"

"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card." Zane calls.

A gust of wind strikes Yuuna's facedown card, making her shriek as it bursts into pixels. There goes another contingency plan. She needs to find a way to stop that from happening!

"This is for Atticus!" Zane yells. "Drei, destroy Zure!"

The dragon roars and follows it's command, charging at Zure.

"I'll protect you, my Queen!" Zure draws his sword, charging into battle.

"Zure!" Yuuna calls.

Zure roars and swings his sword down on Drei's head, but Drei blasts electricity from his mouth, destroying them both in mutual destruction.

"This is for Yusuke!" Zane roars. "Cyber Dragon! Trident blast!"

The original serpentine monster roars, charging up his attack, then blasting fire from his mouth. It hits Yuuna head on, making her scream.

"YUUNA!" Yubel shrieks.

YUUNA YUKI: 1900

ZANE TRUESDALE: 4000

Yuuna stumbles, smoke rising off her. "I…" She lifts her head, glaring Zane down. "I'm okay Yubel."

She's lying, poorly at that. That attack hit hard, hard enough to hurt. She's seen a few powerful Duelists on the island, but this is a first for Yuuna. She's pretty sure normal people can't do that, which can only mean one thing.

The Light of Destruction is in Zane's Deck and giving him this power.

"Who's Yusuke?" Yuuna calls. "How do you know Atticus?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Zane barks.

Yuuna flinches, taking a step back.

"I'll end my turn by playing Different Dimension Capsule." Zane declares.

A sarcophagus rises from the ground.

"With it," Zane pulls out his Deck. "I'm allowed to take any card I want from my Deck and remove it from play. But after my second Stand-by Phase after activating this card, I'm allowed to put the card I removed from play right into my hand."

With that, he selects a card from his Deck, pockets it and puts the rest of his Deck back in it's slot.

Yubel snarls. "That's going to be the best card in his Deck. Yuuna, you need to build up on the defence."

"I know, Yubel. But I need answers too." Yuuna draws.

She takes in a deep breath. She tells her heart to slow down, closing her eyes.

"Zane, I'm not playing dumb." Yuuna opens her eyes, keeping her voice steady. "I don't know who this Yusuke is. I don't know anything about Atticus other than that he's Alexis' older brother and he disappeared in the Abandoned Dorm some time before this year."

Zane snarls. "So you didn't bother to remember your victims' names?!"

"I don't remember because I didn't hurt anyone!" Yuuna flinches at her raised voice, then brings it down. "Why are you convinced that I hurt them?"

"Because I know what you are!" Zane points at her accusingly. "I know what you are, Supreme King!"

Yuuna stiffens.

Oh no.

"I know you're the source of all darkness in this world, as if your Deck doesn't give you away!" Zane roars. "I know you're the reason the Abandoned Dorm is how it is, your murals are on the wall! I know you've been hurting people for millennia now and it ends today!"

Yuuna gapes at him, hand over her heart. "Zane… I haven't-"

"Take your turn already." Zane huffs. "I'm tired of listening to your lies."

"But I'm not lying!" Yuuna calls out, on the verge of tears. "I am the Supreme King but I'm not a monster-"

"Yuuna." Yubel gently puts their hand on her shoulder.

Yuuna turns to them.

"His heart is closed to you and he won't listen. For now, all you can do is win this Duel." Yubel gives her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Yuuna sighs. "I know."

She can't change Zane's beliefs about her with just a conversation, especially in the middle of a Duel and especially when he's so certain she's so bad. But…

Yuuna looks Zane in the eye.

His eyes are cold and icy, but under that she senses pain. Frustration. Loss. Hurt.

Yuuna knows what the Abandoned Dorm is like and it is infested with a dark power, but it's not Yuuna's power. It's a twisted and tainted darkness that consumes, consumes, consumes. It's taken two people that Zane clearly cares about, even if Yuuna doesn't know who these people are. She can't assume responsibility for something that wasn't her fault.

Yuuna narrows her eyes and looks at her cards.

But she can look into it. She can try to find out what happened to Atticus Rhodes and this Yusuke person. She is the Herald of the Gentle Darkness, so if the bad version of darkness isn't fixing what it's done in the Abandoned Dorm, it makes sense for her to try.

Yuuna picks her cards.

She's going to try to help Zane and Alexis find Atticus and Yusuke.

"I play the spell card Dark World Dealings!" Yuuna calls. "With it, we both get to draw one card from our Decks and then Discard one from our hands."

Zane glares at her suspiciously but does just that, as does Yuuna.

"And because I discarded my Lucent, Netherlord of Dark World, he gets to take to the battlefield!" Yuuna swings her arm. "Come on out of the Graveyard, man!"

Lucent rises from the ground, roaring and stretching with his 2400 ATK.

"And I still have my normal summon, so I'm gonna use it to bring out-" Yuuna cheers. "Snoww, the Unlight of Dark World!"

Snoww rises to the field, tapping her staff on the ground, displaying her 1700 ATK.

"Excellent work, Yuuna." Yubel nods, arms folded.

"Lucent, go after that Cyber Dragon and Snoww, follow it up by going for a direct attack on Zane!" Yuuna punches the air in front of her.

"Anything for you, your Majesty." Lucent calls.

"I'll get him for you Yuuna!" Snoww promises.

Lucent leads the charge and Cyber Dragon meets him in the middle, but with a well aimed punch from Lucent in the beast's jaws, he bursts into pixels.

YUUNA YUKI: 1900

ZANE TRUESDALE: 3700

Then Snoww rushes right past Lucent, swinging her staff and bringing it down where Zane's head was, the boy barely dodging in time.

YUUNA YUKI: 1900

ZANE TRUESDALE: 2000

"To end my turn, I'll play a facedown and hand it to you Zane." Yuuna does just that.

Zane draws. "Very well then. Since I have no monsters on my field, I'll remove my Cyber Dragon Core from my graveyard and the game."

A black metallic dragon with a red light in the centre of it's body rises from the graveyard.

"When did he get in there?!" Yuuna gasps.

"When you had me discard a card with your Dark World Dealings." Zane says cooly. "And with his removal from play, I can summon a Cyber Dragon from my Deck!"

A new Cyber Dragon appears on the field, just as menacing as the last one with 2100 ATK.

"Then I'll play my Cyber Dragon Vier's ability. When I summon a Cyber Dragon, he's allowed to join him on the field in DEF mode." Zane calls.

A new serpentine creature appears on the field, this one with purple outlining, orbs and 1600 DEF points.

"With my Vier on the Field, all my Cyber Dragons gain 500 ATK and DEF points." Zane declares. "And with the Monster Reborn in my hand, I'll summon my first Cyber Dragon back from the Graveyard!"

Cyber Dragon returns, both of them roaring as their points raise to 2600.

"But neither of them shall remain here in present form." Zane reveals- "Polymerisation!"

Yubel snarls, muttering curses in some demonic language Yuuna hasn't learned.

The two Cyber Dragons merge in the vortex.

And out of them arises Cyber Twin Dragon, a two headed fat bodied mechanical beast.

"Oh great, double trouble. This can't get any worse." Yuuna mutters.

His usual 2800 ATK rises to 3300 thanks to Veri's ability.

Shit.

"My Cyber Twin Dragon has the ability to attack twice in a round-" Zane throws out his arm. "And he's coming for your Snoww and Lucent!"

Lucent growls. "Shit."

"Yuuna?" Snoww calls, looking over her shoulder.

Cyber Twin Dragon fires off it's attack-

"Don't worry guys!" Yuuna calls. "Because I've got a trap, Negate Attack!"

Her facedown pops up, creating a barrier between the Cyber Twin Dragon's twin blasts, lighting up the whole area.

"With this, I can end the Battle Phase and you can't use either of Cyber Twin Dragon's attacks to take out my monsters!" Yuuna grins. "How do you like that, Zane?"

Zane scowls. "I end my turn."

"Great, because now it's my go!" Yuuna draws.

"Kuri!"

"Yuuna." Yubel smiles.

Yuuna looks at her drawn card. "Winged Kuriboh."

Winged Kuriboh 'kuri's cheerfully, flapping his wings happily.

Yuuna smiles at him. "It's good to see you pal. Let's see what I can do."

The only other card in her hand is Double Summon, which… is not that helpful when she only has one monster to summon.

"Alright then, I'll play my Winged Kuriboh in DEF mode!" Yuuna calls.

Winged Kuriboh appears on the field in a spill of glitter and sparks, 'kuri'ing proudly with his 300 DEF points.

"I'll switch Snoww and Zure to DEF mode too." Yuuna does that, having her monsters take a knee.

Snoww groans, points dropping to 0. "I despise kneeling for the enemy."

"Grin and bare it, my lady." Lucent groans, his own points plummeting to 0.

"Hang in there guys." Yuuna calls to them. "With that, I end my turn."

Zane draws.

Then his Different Dimension Capsule rises from the ground.

"You played well, but not well enough." Zane scowls.

"What do you mean?" Yuuna stiffens.

Yubel sighs. "The card he was saving for this moment, Yuuna."

"I play De-Fusion to bring back my two Cyber Dragons!" Zane declares, branding the spell card high.

The two dragons return to the field.

"And now for the main event." Zane pulls his card from his pocket. "I play my Power Bond to fuse my two Cyber Dragons and my Cyber Dragon Vier!"

The three dragons disappear into the vortex.

"To bring out!" Zane punches the air. "Cyber End Dragon!"

The three headed dragon with wings and made of metal roars, displaying his 4000 ATK points.

"NO!" Yubel screams.

Yuuna stares up at it in awe, shaking slightly. "Oh my God."

"Power Bond doubles Cyber End Dragon's ATK points." Zane says cooly. "And he has the ability to do piercing battle damage."

Cyber End Dragon screams as his points skyrocket to 8000 ATK.

"Oh no." Snoww whispers, almost too softly to hear.

Winged Kuriboh screams in worry. "Kuri!"

Zane scowls. "You'd have been better leaving your monsters in ATK mode."

Yuuna grits her teeth.

"Cyber End Dragon, attack Lucent!" Zane orders.

Cyber End Dragon fires off three blasts from it's three heads, aiming them at Lucent. Lucent howls as the attack destroys him, passing straight through to Yuuna, who screams as the blast sends her flying.

"YUUNA!" Yubel and Snoww scream, Winged Kuriboh crying with them. "KURI!"

YUUNA YUKI: 0

ZANE TRUESDALE: 2000

WINNER: ZANE TRUESDALE

Yuuna's back hits a tree and she falls on her face, groaning miserably.

"That's all it took to take down the Supreme King?" Zane says. "I'm shocked."

Yubel snarls, pulling their arm back. "You monster! Don't touch her-"

"Yu…" Yuuna whimpers. "Yubel, don't hurt him."

She can't do that. She can't live with Yubel hurting someone else.

Zane stops right in front of her.

Yuuna groans and tries to lift her head to look at him.

"I won our Duel. Now tell me everything." Zane demands, glaring down at her.

"I…" Yuuna whimpers. "I already told you in our Duel. I don't know anything."

Zane snarls. "I'm getting tired of your lying."

"I'm not." Yuuna shakily gets to her hands and knees, looking up at Zane. "I'm not lying because I don't know anything."

Zane's eyes narrow and he glares at her menacingly. "Well that's unfortunate."

Yuuna braces herself for a punch, kick or something-

"YUUNA!"

Yuuna gasps, Zane stops and everyone turns to the scream.

Syrus is standing there, panting, heaving for breath, while Chumley and Blair burst out of a bush behind him.

"What happened?!" Syrus calls. "Why are you on the ground like that? Did…" He turns to Zane, horror on his face. "Did my brother beat you?"

Yuuna sighs, getting to her feet. "Yeah."

Oh God, she's never been this happy to see Syrus and her other friends.

With them here, she…

Yuuna turns to Zane. And smiles.

She has the strength to be kind in the face of her fear.

"But it was a good Duel." Yuuna turns to Zane, gathering her strength. "You're an impressive Duelist, Zane, I can see why you're the big man on campus."

Zane glares at her suspiciously.

"I wouldn't mind Duelling again some day, but maybe with friendlier terms." Yuuna offers her hand. "Good game."

Zane narrows his eyes further.

Then he spins on his heel and walks away.

Blair, Syrus and Chumley run over to her.

"Geez, talk about rude." Blair says. "What an asshole." Then she looks at Syrus. "No offense, Sy."

"None taken." Syrus stands taller. "You're right actually, my brother is an ass."

After such an intense Duel and losing so badly, only for her friends to lighten it all, Yuuna can't help it.

She laughs, plain and simple, making her friends look at her like she's crazy.

Yubel sighs, shaking their head. "They're going to think you're insane."

"She's lost it." Syrus sighs.

Yuuna laughs even harder.

"I don't think she had it to begin with." Chumley groans, patting her back. "What were you thinking, Duelling THE Zane Truesdale?"

Yuuna struggles to stifle her giggles, shaking herself off.

"Hey, it was the best way to get him to apologize to Syrus for being such an ass that I could think of!" Yuuna holds up her hands in surrender, then folds them behind her head. "Plus, I wanted to see how well I stacked up against the big man on campus."

They don't need to know Zane made her think Syrus was in danger.

Blair and Chumley groan and sigh, shaking their heads.

But Syrus stares at her in awe. "You did that for me?"

Yuuna smiles. "Of course." She kneels down so she's eye-level with Syrus. "You're like a little brother to me, Syrus. I wasn't about to let someone who made you feel bad get away with it."

Syrus gapes at her, mouth open wide.

Blair giggles. "Ya know, we're all sorta like family to each now that I think about it." She turns to Chumley. "I know I kinda think of you as a big brother, Chum."

Chumley blushes. "Aww shucks." He rubs the back of his head. "You guys are kinda like my little buddies too. I've never had siblings before though, so I don't really know what it's like."

Yuuna smiles at him. "I've never had an older brother either, but I think I could get used to it."

Syrus then bursts into tears, nearly soaking everyone.

"I, I've never had friends before!" Syrus sobs. "Not like you guys! You all care about me, none of you care about Zane, un-unless he hurts me and that, th-"

"Aww Sy." Blair rubs at her eyes. "Group hug!"

Yuuna laughs and so everyone converges on Syrus, hugging him tightly, everyone's arms wrapping around each other. Yuuna looks up at Yubel, who is smiling at them all.

Sure, Zane and Alexis are terrifying and the Light seems to be growing stronger everyday.

But Yuuna has Syrus, Blair and Chumley, along with everyone in her Deck.

Yuuna holds her friends a little tighter.

She'll be just fine.

"What do you say we all head back and watch some movies or something?" Yuuna suggests.

Everyone cheers and with that, they walk away from the first battlefield.